It’s easy. May 26 is the international day of action against sexual violence in conflict. And it only take a few minutes to urge your elected officials, wherever you are, to make ending sexual violence in conflict a top national priority.

Following the unprecedented conference in Montebello, Quebec, where I was humbled to join 120 women from 36 countries to discuss strategies to address sexual violence, the Nobel Laureates took a stand this morning in Ottawa – addressing Canadian parliamentarians and urging them to take the lead to end rape in war. Together we can also take this message to governments all over the world.

Make sure to check the NWI blog and follow the #endrapeinwar hashtag. Use it in your posts – let’s make it trend!

And thanks. We can really do this together. I’ve been meeting this week with women who know how to get it done. But it’s going to take all of us.

Sample Tweets:

Hundreds of women will be raped today. TAKE A STAND and send a letter to your gvt urging to #endrapeinwar http://bit.ly/m4GiD

Almost 48 women are raped every hour in Congo. TAKE A STAND and send a letter to your government urging to #endrapeinwar http://bit.ly/m4GiDb

Women Nobel Laureates are taking a stand to #endrapeinwar. TAKE A STAND and send a letter to your gvt urging action: http://bit.ly/m4GiDb

Sample Facebook Posts:

As you sit at your computer right now, hundreds of women around the world are being raped as a strategic tactic of war. Tell your government: enough is enough! TAKE A STAND and send a letter to your elected official urging them to take action link: http://bit.ly/m4GiDb

Women Nobel Peace Laureates are TAKING A STAND to end sexual violence in conflict. Why don’t you? Send a letter to your elected official urging them to be a leader by acting to end rape! link: http://bit.ly/m4GiDb

Reprinted with permission from from Yes Means Yes. All Rights Reserved.

Comments

Thank you so much for this post. I appreciate Ms focusing on this, and am very glad that this issue is getting attention.

However, I increasingly worry that the campaigns around ending rape in wartime sequester it from its connection to gender relations in times of peace. As numerous authors (Stiglmayer, Meintjes and Pillay, Turshen et al) have shown, rape of women in war arises from enduring gender systems which authorize forms of sexual violence in public and private spheres in times of peace also. What is gained and what is lost by focusing on rape in wartime as a discrete occurrence?

And, how might attention to rape of men in wartime (see the excellent video Gender Against Men, by the Refugee Law Project in Uganda) also help us understand the wider patriarchal structures which help construct women as rapeable and inferior?